Air conditioning apparatus



March 7, 1939.

W. L. FLEISHER I AIR' CONDITIONING APP ARATUS Filed Feb. 24, 1936 o a a o o on Wal'ier l1. Fleisfier ATTO RNEY INVENTOR Patented Mar. 7, 1939 PATENT OFFICE 2,149,593 AIR- CONDITIONING APPARATUS Walter L. Fleisher, Application February 24,

6 Claims- This invention relates to. air conditioning apparatus.

An object of the invention is to provide a compact and self-contained air conditioning apparatus, capable of cooling air under summer conditions and humidifying air under winter operating conditions.

Another object of the invention is to provide an emcient unitary air conditioning apparatus which is comparatively inexpensive and simple, and which is substantially noiseless in operation.

The invention contemplates the use of bundles of straight, parallel filaments or fibresoi non-absorbent, non-hygroscopic, non-corrodible, smooth surfaced material, preferably glass threads. Each filament is relatively long compared to its thickness, the diameter of the filaments being so small that the bundle forms a great number of very fine, smooth, frictionless passages between the fibres, of substantially uniform cross section.

- The surfaces of the filaments are neither water repellent nor absorptive or water occluding, but smooth glass-like surfaces, easily wetted and along which water is readily conducted by combined gravitational and air current forces. Such a bundle or basket of oriented capillary thread glass wool is disclosed in my United States Patent No. 2,054,809, patented September 22, 1936. u The vast surface provided by. the filaments insures intimate contact between air and water drawn therethrough. The air picks up water vapor and approaches saturation at its initial wet bulb temperature, so that the dry bulb temperature of air leaving the apparatus is sub- 5 stantially below the entering dry bulb. Thus,

applicant accomplishes cooling without mechanical refrigeration.

To minimize resistance to air flow, the air and water are caused to pass concurrently through the filaments, that is, in the same direction. Thus, the water is spread out thinner and does not tend to pile up and dam the passages; the two fluids assistone another to flow through the filaments with minimum friction loss, the vapor pressure difference between liquid and air is increased, and evaporation is promoted since the thin layers of air and water are forced to travel in intimate contact.

The water, when in contact with the air, is always in the form of large, agglomerated particles, or else in the form of a film flowing lengthwis'e of the filaments. The water is never in the form of mist or very fine particles. Thus, there a is no entrainment of moisture by the air passing preferably comprises a New York, N. Y.

1936, Serial No. 65,315

through the conditioner and supplied to the enclosure.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of an inclined surface for receiving air and water issuing from the basket whereby the air is routed through the apparatus in a desired course, and the splashing sound of water falling from the basket isreduced.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of removable baskets of different thicknesses, the thicker baskets being used for coolin under summer operating conditions, the thinner baskets being used for humidifying under winter operating conditions.

J Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a sump, water distributor means, and means for supplying water from the sump to the distributor means, including a pipe or tube, at least a portion of which is flexible. By bending the flexible tubing, water from the sump may be pumped to a suitable drain receptacle when it is desired to empty the sump, the same pump being used for draining in this manner, and for supplying water to the distributor means during normal operation.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a casing comprising an upper section and a lower section, the upper section being supported on the lower section and being readily removable therefrom. This construction facilitates inspection and cleaning of the sump.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of air conditioning apparatus including a casing having separable upper and lower casing sections, a partition in the lower casing section defining the extremity of a sump, a pump carried on the partition and a removable plate carried by the upper casing section for supporting a fan and its driving motor.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following description to be read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 illustrates a modified basket arrangement. 7

Referring to the drawing, numeral 5 designates generally the casing of the apparatus. Applicant does not limit himself as to the form of the casing nor with respect to its size. Thus, the apparatus may be permanently installed in a building, or, as is preferred, it may be portable. The casing 5 lower portion 6 and an an embodiment apparatus is positioned basket I2 glass wool or the like. adapted to discharge the water distributor packed with Above the louvers H and water over the basket I2 is on the opposite from the basket I2, there is which drives a fan the louvers H and being drawn through the basket 12 by operation of fan Hi.

In the lower casing section 6 toward the end of the apparatus basket 42, there is provided a partition 22 which the partition 22 and hence unaffected by the water in sump 23. The pump 24 is adapted to draw water from the sump 23 and to supply it through a flexible tube 26 to the distributor pan I3. The end of the flexible tube 26 may be provided, if desired, with a loosely tied cloth or the like 21, to minimize the sound resulting from introduction of water into the pan I3. The water supplied to pan I3 drips downwardly therefrom through openings M and is thus uniformly supplied to all parts of the basket l2 through which the water passes with air intaken within the apparatus the water conditioning such air in accordance with the teachings of U. S. Patent No. 2,054,809, patented September 22, 1936. Beneath the basket I2 there is preferably provided an inclined plate 28 which is preferably provided with a screen 29 at an angle thereto. plate serves to minimize the splashing sound of water so that this becomes scarcely audible, and the strainer 29 serves to remove from the water circulated in the system any particles of foreign matter which may be delivered from the basket [2.

According to the present arrangement no atomization of water is pump 26 need develop only sufiicient head to raise water from the sump 23 to the water distributor pan i3." Thus pump 2t and its driving motor 25 may be smaller and more quiet in operation than if they were parts of a maven-=- is also preferably pro-- The inclined I required. Thus, the' tional air conditioning apparatus utilizing spray headers or the like.

Moreover, since not atomized, but in the entrained by the In consequence, eliminators. The

air passed through the unit. there is no necessity to provide absence of eliminators reduces unit. Further, the static resistance to the flow of air through the unit is relatively low due to their absence, and the fan and its driving motor are smaller than they would have to be if eliminators were used.

entering wet bulb temperature.

tures rarely exceed 78 in this country, the ap- During the winter, the air in heated enclosures is relatively dry, and requires humidifica- Applicants device may be used toefiect ing the summer. Since the wet bulb temperature in the winter is relatively low, it is not desirable to saturate the air, however, because the dry bulb temperature of the air would then-be too low for comfort. Accordingly, under winter operating conditions, applicant replaces the the weight of the Since wet bulb tempera-- ture into the air circulating through the apparatus, and then feed the humidified air to the in'take of a hot air heating system. The air distributed by the system, then, will not only have .eign matter which might a greater moisture content, but will be at a suitably high temperature as well.

The arrangement shown in Fig. 3 is particularly suited for use in textile mills or other places where air entering the unit carries with it a considerable quantity of lint, fiy, or other fortend to mat and prevent the passage of air through the basket 8. In this arrangement the basket is made up of three sections. The central or main section of the basket is packed with glass wool, the oriented strands of which lie in substantially vertical planes. The upper section of the basket is provided with a layer of glass wool, the oriented strands of which lie in substantially horizontal planes. The horizontal strands collect the lint, fluff and foreign matte and prevent it from passing to the main portion of the basket. The upper section may be removed, independently of the lower section, as often as required for cleaning in any suitable manner, or for replacement. Preferably a layer 3| of horizontal filaments is provided at the bottom of the vertical threads of the unit for supporting the vertical strands and to prevent the entrainment of water by the air stream by causing the water passing from the basket to agglomerate into relatively large particles.

- as illustrative only,

32 designates a resistor in the circuit including pump motor 25. Electrical energy is supplied to the motors 25 and I8 through electrical supply line 33. The operation of the fan motor I8 is controlled by electrical switch 34 and. the operation of the pump motor 25 is controlled by electrical switch 35, the switches 34 and 35 being preferably mounted at the side of the cabinet. Access door 36 in the side of the casing section 1 enables an operator, prior to taking the apparatus apart, to break the joint 31 in the tube 26 and to separate the two portions of the electrical connecting block 38 in the line leading to the pump motor 46. On removal of the cover of the apparatus, the electrical connecting block 39 in the circuit supplying the fan motor l8 may be broken.

The fact that the various parts of the apparatus may readily be removed for inspection, repairor replacement renders the construction, highly desirable.

In preferred forms of the invention, water and air are passed concurrently through the conditioning basket. While it is possible to utilize applicants basket in a counter-flow arrangement, the concurrent flow arrangements illustrated and described permit the use of baskets having comparatively small cross-sectional areas. Thus, for example, air may be circulated through a basket approximately 9 x 12 inches in cross-section and 6 inches deep, at the rate of 300 cubic feet per minute when air and water fiow concurrently. To circulate air at the same rate through a basket of the same depth when the counter-flow arrangement is used, a crosssectional area approximately three times as great would be required. Moreover, concurrent flow effects more efficient cleaning of the air than does countercurrent flow, since concurrent flow provides greater contact between air and water than does countercurrent fiow.

Since many modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that the and the accompanying drawing, shall be regarded applicant limiting himself the accompanying claims.

foregoing description,

only as indicated in through both groups of In the claims,- the expression humidifying surface is to be understood to relate to oriented glass wool threads, or any other means providing relatively great surface area, such as, for example, metallic turnings or the like.

I claim:

1. In an air conditioning apparatus, a first group of glass wool threads, a second group of glass wool threads, the threads of said first group being substantially parallel to a common plane which is angularly disposed with respect to a second plane, the threads of said second group being substantially parallel to said second plane, and means for passing air successively through said first group of threads and said second group of threads.

2. In an apparatus of the character described a casing comprising an upper section and a lower section, the upper section being removably mounted upon the lower section, a fan, driving means therefor, a removable plate mounted in said upper casing section, said plate supporting said fan and the driving means therefor and being removable with said upper casing section from said lower section, a partition in the lower casing section for dividing the lower casing section into two compartments, a pump mounted on said par-,

tition and driving means for said pump post'- tioned in one of said compartments, said pump being adapted to withdraw liquid from the other of said compartments, and means in combination with said pump for contacting said withdrawn liquid with air circulated through said apparatus by said fan, said pump and said driving means therefor being made accessible for inspection and repair by removal of said upper casing section.

3. In an apparatus of the character described a casing comprising an upper section and a lower section, the upper section being removably mounted on the lower section, means including a tube for elevating liquid from said lower casing section to said upper casing section, an access door in one of the sections of said casing, and a separable joint in said tube whereby when it is desired to remove the upper section of the casing from' the lower section of the casing the access door may be opened and said joint may be broken.

4. In an apparatus of the character described a casing comprising an upper section and a lower section, the upper section being removably mounted on said lower section, means forming. in said casing a pair of interconnecting passageways, contact apparatus positioned in said upper casing section in one of said passageways, a fan positioned in said upper casing section in another passageway, a pump positioned in said lower section, electrically actuated means for driving said fan and saidpump said means being located respectively in the upper and lower casing sections, a tube in communication with said pump and extending upwardly to said contact apparatus, an

electrical circuit including said driving means,

glass threads positioned in substantially parallel relationship to each other and, to a second common plane which is perpendicular "to the first plane, means for passing liquid successively threads, means for passirig air successively through both groups of threads, the fiow of air and liquid being in the same direction thru the groups of threads.

6. In an air conditioning apparatus, a first group of non-hygroscopic filaments each of which is substantially parallel to a first common plane, a second group of non-hygroscopic filaments each of which is substantially parallel to a second common plane which is angularly disposed with respect to said first common plane, means for passing air through said groups of filaments, and liquid supply means for supplying liquid to air passed through said filaments.

WALTER L. FLEISHER. 

